Good News

We put the check in the mail so it looks like Earl & I will be driving up to the Chamber Music Workshop in Swannanoa, NC for June 8 to 13th.

Whoopee. Best part is that we won't be playing anywhere near each other.

Wrote on the application that Earl has 45 years of chamber music experience but only wants to play Violin II with nothing harder than Dvorak or Brahms because he's lazy.

Playing Blind

During my last keyboard lesson, I was told to stop looking at the keys. I've been trying to play with my eyes closed. It's taking quite some time to train my left arm to find those octave leaps.

This is Just for My Hysterical Files

Decided to post this at the two day mark so I can benchmark my progress. I was having fun reading this until my husband came in, grabbed my shoulders and insisted that I clean up a phrase. That's probably why I look grumpy in the video. You can obviously tell I'm surprized by the big leaps.

Ear Worm and Shifting Exercise

At the same site that I found the first movement of the Breval Sonata in C they also had a copy of the Brahms Waltz. I had heard this piece played by one of the SMA kid's so tried it out. It has lots of shifting so it's a great exercise for that technique. However, it does give one ear worm disease. The melody is haunting and doesn't go away easily.

My cellist friend has the Breval score, so I'll get a copy of the piano part for the first movement. I'm going to try to get it approved for the next chamber music class in the fall. It would be nice to play a piece where one doesn't have to spend twenty hours just finding the notes.

It's All Relative

My husband, the "fill-in-the-expletive-deleted-of-your-choice", said that I shouldn't waste my time trying to play the Breval. I should look at the Largo of the Vivaldi Cello Concerto in B-flat instead. Well, I tortured myself and tried to sightread the first seven measures in tenor clef, no less. The good thing about this, is after trying to play the Largo, the Swan looked positively easy. It's all relative, right?

Essay Workshop

This morning I went to an essay workshop that is meant to prepare folks for passing their Teachers Certification Exam. I've always done well in English classes but the last time I had to write a formal essay was probably in 1976. So I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a refresher course.

I'm glad I went to the workshop. The teacher was a hoot and there were some things I had forgotten. Especially nowadays, where brevity is usually considered the most important part of writing for the web. Commercial websites have to telegraph their message to attention deficit cliental.

I've always had an unornamented style of writing. One teacher of mine called it "stark". So I'll have to force myself to think a little differently. For homework, I have to write an essay on "a famous person that children use as a role model" in 50 minutes. Oh dear, I think I'm already experiencing writer's block!

Click here for my notes regarding essay writing for GKT, FTCE

Breval

Thanks to Maricello for mentioned GGP and Breval. I hadn't heard of Breval before so after a little web searching I found a copy of the first page of the C Sonata. It was a fairly easy read and managed to entertain me for a hour this afternoon.

Visualization

Old style vs. new:

Something about filling in a box has made practicing more fun.

Some of these exercises only take a minute to do. When I look at the chart, one thinks, despite being tired, "ah what the heck, let's do the darn exercise so I can fill in that box."

The Ugly Duckling - Phase III

As expected, the other 'birds' are pecking and making fun of the ugly duckling. My husband says my rhythms are strange and exotic and what's with the big glissando?

The Ugly Duckling - Phase II

The chick is still struggling to get out of its shell...
Well tonight the pianist would only play the left hand part. Obviously, didn't practice much this week. Teacher didn't get a chance to listen to us. If the pianist can't play the part next week, then I figured I could get out of the deal. "Not so", says Teacher. He wants to hear me irregardless next week and then make a decision. He can always play the accompaniment if he feels I'm good enough to do the recital.

Eighth Month Progress Video

I figured it was time to submit another embarrassing video to YouTube. It's been over half a year since my last video. Gives me a chance to see how my playing looks. Here's an attempt at the Bach Bouree. I know it's supposed to be more staccato. There are quite a few bad notes. I skipped the trill, started over at one point, well you get the drift. I figured if I wait till I get it note perfekt, you guys won't be seeing any videos for a long, long time. I was mostly trying to not rush. The jury is not out yet on how to hold the bow. I have had conflicting reports.

Silly Keyboard Tricks

Finally took some time to explore the features on the new Casio PX200 keyboard this evening. It has a recording feature, so tried that out and saving it to an SD card. Unfortunately it saves files either as midi or casio proprietory format. :( why no mp3? Oh well, here's the 30 sec sample I saved in midi format -- it's a Bach Marche piece I'm working on.

Then checked out the score book that came with the system. It has 60 built-in classical tunes, graded easy, moderate and difficult. Tried out the old easy standby -- Bach Minuet in G, slowed down the tempo, turned on the left hand only, the right hand only, and played along. Pretty nifty tool for learning a piece. Supposedly you can import midi tunes into the keyboard as well.

Hooked up the sustain pedal and it appears to work. Manuals says if one wants a damper pedal, one would have to buy an extra pedal. Something I doubt I would need.

Vernal Equinox

Miami doesn't have much of a Spring.
However, Maricello's Little Bird post inspired this Peep Show


Water Whistle bird - Romania


Phoenix Roof Tile - China

Dove Whistle - Bulgaria

Toucan - Mexico

Hen - Miami

Playing from Memory

I have to be honest and report that today's SMA recital had 4 pieces in which I attempted to play without a score. I managed to miss notes in every single one of them. There was an amazing passage during Minuet 3 where the cello was prominently missing :)

3 Hours

I think I broke a record tonight for practicing...even if part of the time was piano instead of cello. I started on cello, took a break and did some keyboard, and then went back to cello. I think what kept me going longer than normal was that after I finished all my mandatory exercises, I did some sight reading in Suzuki Book I & II for fun.

New Keyboard

The new keyboard arrived today. The box had the usual gash that's expected whenever something is labeled "fragile".


The gash managed to miss the keyboard so all was well. The keyboard fits in the space that I found in the hallway on the credenza. However, it's a little taller than the old keyboard so I'll have to find some more books to sit on.

The Ugly Duckling - Phase I

The egg is laid: Pianist was all for trying to play the Swan. We tried it this evening and after several attempts, I turned on the metronome. I suspect the reason I was having so much trouble with the rhythm was that the pianist had been playing slower and slower as we were going along.

The egg is hatched: Teacher came to listen to us. After a couple of measures, the pianist was given special attention. After the pianist left, teacher listened to me and had these comments...
My intonation is fine. I need to internalize the song and not count the rhythm while playing. Vibrato needs work. Some notes are very nice, and then there's all the rest. Use a slower vibrato, perhaps vary it a little, go for a louder tone, and don't worry so much about the bowing.

First Quarter Check

Reviewing goals for 2008:

• Hold off further work on the Swan until I get vibrato down.
  ... Chamber music teacher wants to see me use vibrato. He's happy with my sound and intonation.
• Work up Allegretto movement from K.564, Mozart Piano Trio for chamber piece.
  .... Haven't looked at it.
  
• Work on Bouree (M1) for solo piece.
  .... On and off, my husband says my Swan sounds better than my Bouree at this stage. I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult. Probably the latter :(
  
• Memorize Suzuki Bach Minuet accompaniments so I don't have a stand in front of me when playing SMA concerts.
  .... Minuet 1 and 2 are memorized, 3 is still shaky.
  
• Start work on Suzuki Book One.
  .... Next solo scheduled: Rigadoon
  

You might think it strange that I'm working on really hard pieces and really simple pieces. The trouble with the simple ones is they have to be spot on -- like little gems RC says.

Digital Tablet

I splurged on a digital tablet this month. Atypical impulse buy -- Journeyed had them on sale. I used to have a first generation years ago which I used with Photoshop and in lieu of a mouse until I lost the pen. Couldn't justify buying another one as by then Photoshop had better tools for selecting areas. Also I had finally made peace with the mouse. For years I would either use a trackball or some other type of pointing devices because I think mice are ergonomically evil and good sources for carpal tunnel.

Here's my first sketch using new tablet -- froggie. It's interesting that one has to press really really hard to get a dark line. Also the pen is cheap plastic, not like the metal one that came with my first tablet.

One Month before R-Day

April 15th will be the recital for chamber music class. Having the "Swan" forced upon me certainly has lit a fire on my practice schedule this week. My teacher wants to hear me play it next Tuesday so I'm trying to at least get the notes and rhythm in place by then. I've also been trying to do vibrato exercises. I hated vibrato exercises when I was doing them on the violin. On the cello they don't sound so bad.

Keyboard, Yes!

I've decided to go with the Casio PX200. It's been 3 weeks so I can't chalk it up to an impulse buy. I can get it online for $499. I figure I can resell my current keyboard which cost me $40 for the same price and that I've made $200 so far giving music lessons this year. So it's really only costing me $250. At least that's the justification spin. Lately, I have been reluctant to practice on my current keyboard knowing that the touch is so different from an actual piano.

Oklahoma, No!

MDC is presenting the musical Oklahoma April 21st. The director asked if I would be interested in playing the cello part. After a quick skim of the score, I had to decline - wayyy too much chromaticism and funny keys (5 sharps/flats) for me at this point in my cello career :)

One of the pianists at chamber music class wants me to do the Swan with her. Will see, first I have to find the notes, play in rhythm, and then I have to make it sound acceptable. I only have 3 more rehearsals before the actual recital to get all these elements in place.

Pre St. Paddy's Plus

Went to our local music center Saturday and caught some traditional irish music. Captured this with my cell phone so quality isn't too great...

boomp3.com

A friend sent me this fun article about the "Really Terrible Orchestra". A gentle reminder to not take ourselves so seriously.

This article reminded my friend of this Gugenheimer Sourkraut Band's rendition of the Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

boomp3.com

AND let's not forget the World's Worst Orchestra circa 1974

Corelli Trio Sonata - Day 219

Our teacher recorded us during chamber music class last night attempting a Corelli Trio Sonata.

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

The violins sure are squeaky. The allegro needs to be faster -- we'll have another 5 sessions to practice before the recital April 15th.

Boring stats
1/14 - 3/5/08 (5 wks)
Thumb 3x
Trill 3x
Suzuki bow exercises 16x
Chamber Pieces 8x
Minuets 11x
Suzuki book 1 pieces 9x
Bouree 5x
Swan 3x